Fire safety contractor defends inaction despite knowing alarms were disabled before fatal Tai Po blaze

A director of a Hong Kong fire safety contractor has defended his firm’s inaction despite knowing that the alarms at Wang Fuk Court were disabled a week before a massive blaze that killed 168 people.

Chung Kit-man (centre), a director and engineer at Victory Fire Engineering, testified at a public hearing on March 31, 2026 relating to the massive Tai Po fire. Photo: Hans Tse/HKFP.

Chung Kit-man, a director and engineer at Victory Fire Engineering, continued his testimony on Tuesday before an independent committee tasked with investigating the fatal blaze that broke out on November 26.

Victory Fire was one of the two fire safety contractors for Wang Fuk Court at the time of the fire, alongside China Status Development and Engineering.

The committee previously heard that China Status disabled Wang Fuk Court’s fire safety system in April last year for repairs to rooftop water tanks and had since applied to the Fire Services Department (FSD) for 16 extensions. At the time of the blaze, the estate’s fire alarms remained disabled.

On November 19, a week before the blaze, Victory Fire discovered that the master switch had been turned off, affecting both the alarms and the fire hoses. Chung told the committee on Monday that he was never informed by China Status about the shutdown.

‘Don’t tell others how to do their jobs’

Lee Shu-wun, a lawyer for the committee, drew attention on Tuesday to the annual fire equipment checks Victory Fire performed at Wang Fuk Court in March last year. Checklists from that inspection showed that the rooftop water tanks did not meet required water levels and failed to refill.

However, a certificate signed by Chung did not list the tanks as defective.

Chung told the committee he “overlooked” the checklists and maintained that no defects were found in connection with the tanks during the annual checks in March.

Senior Counsel Richard Khaw (left) on March 26, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Seven months later, in October, Victory Fire returned to Wang Fuk Court to replace defective fire safety equipment. At that time, the firm’s workers became aware that water tanks had been drained due to repair works, according to testimonies made to the police after the fire.

Chung said that, at the time, he already knew the water pumps – which refill the rooftop tanks – were disabled. He said that a staff member from the estate management firm, ISS EastPoint Properties, told him that the FSD had been notified via a “shutdown notice.”

Chung also said he instructed his staff to inform ISS about the disabled master switch and requested to see the official notices on November 19, but did not follow up on the matter.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Chung was grilled by ISS’s lawyer Richard Khaw about why he did not do more to address the disabled systems. Chung said it was not his responsibility.

“I think I may have been influenced by a deep-rooted mentality in this trade: Do not tell others how to do their jobs,” he said in Cantonese. “Even though I sensed a problem, I could only remind them.”

He said he was “saddened” on the day of the fire but was not worried about personal liability. “I really did not shut down the system, so I was more concerned that the management did not follow the procedure,” he said.

‘Trusted their professionalism’

Also testifying on Tuesday was Lok Sin-ying, a clerk at ISS responsible for handling residents’ complaints during a renovation project at the estate, which started in 2024.

Lok Sin-ying (centre), a clerk at ISS EastPoint Properties Limited, testifies at a public hearing into the massive Tai Po fire on March 31, 2026. Photo: Hans Tse/HKFP.

Evidence showed that, in July, the main renovation contractor, Prestige Construction & Engineering, requested that ISS send workers to drain the water tanks. Lok filed a job order for two ISS construction workers to address the matter.

One of those workers, Law Kwok-shui, told police he hesitated to follow the order because fire equipment should only be handled by certified professionals. Law claimed he only drained the tanks after Lok told him to fulfil the contractor’s request.

Lok disagreed with the account on Tuesday, denying she gave such an order. She added that, if the workers had any hesitation, they should have consulted senior management.

She also said that she was aware of China Status’s extended shutdown of the estate’s fire safety system, but added that the matter was beyond her knowledge.

Members of the public bring flowers to a makeshift memorial site near Wang Fuk Court on December 1, 2025, to mourn the victims of the deadly fire. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

“I trusted their professionalism and I personally would not challenge them on [fire safety],” she said.

Lok is set to continue her testimony on Wednesday.